Escape From a Deserted Island With Enemy Female Soldiers

19 – Island Full of Ghosts (2)

Splash.

Tiria’s sleek body was submerged up to her waist. Her cheeks flushed crimson. Her irises were a light pink, so it wasn’t much different.

Rachel methodically washed her body. Not having been able to properly wash for a month, the stream was so welcome. Tiria watched Rachel and then scooped water onto herself with her small, fern-like hands.

“Huuuh, it’s cold.”

Compared to Rachel’s brisk and thorough washing, Tiria’s shower was timid. Rachel, watching Tiria awkwardly washing her hair, spoke up.

“Hey, Colonel.”

“What is it?”

“Are you perhaps… shy?”

Tiria sucked in a breath.

“…A little.”

Actually, it wasn’t just a little.

It was an open space, and she wasn’t wearing anything. Someone might see her.

Somewhere on this island, the mages’ military was likely observing them. What if they were showing this view in real time…?

“Huuup!”

Tiria scrubbed her face roughly. This girl is crazy. Isn’t the delusion too much? It’s all because of those erotic novels.

“Isn’t the Major embarrassed?”

“It’s not like anyone is watching.”

“Have you ever washed in a river before?”

“Yes. I used to do it often when I was little.”

An unexpected answer.

Tiria almost fell backward.

“I’m from a remote fishing village, so we didn’t have proper plumbing. Unless you were rich or worked for the government, using clean water in your own home was difficult. So, except in winter, we would go to the stream to wash ourselves.”

“I-is that so?”

It was a childhood starkly different from Tyria’s.

In the cathedral where Tyria lived, warm water flowed year-round. There was even a private bathroom. After bathing with all sorts of luxurious bath products and scattered flower petals, she’d care for her skin with almond oil and rosewater cold cream.

Back then, she’d found the whole process tedious. Now, she realized how incredibly lavish that life had been.

“So…did you ever have to, like, show your bare body to anyone…or anything?”

“No, nothing like that,”

Rachel replied calmly.

“The women and men had different bathing times. There were also partitions set up on one side of the stream. Little booths, so you could wash and then put your clothes back on, while still getting the water flowing over you.”

Tyria’s thoughts, which had been focused on listening to Rachel, naturally drifted. From washing to partitions, and from partitions back to clothes.

“…Ah.”

“Is something the matter?”

“What if that man does something weird with my clothes?”

“Didn’t he say he was just making fishing rods and traps?”

“Yes, but…you never know. He might be secretly doing something dirty and disgusting with my clothes.”

Rachel was momentarily speechless.

*Why is this saint being like this?*

Does she secretly have a hobby of reading raunchy novels?

“Colonel, he might be a mage, but he’s not that depraved. He’s at least someone who knows his boundaries.”

“That’s because you don’t know men, Lieutenant. Do you know how much men are consumed by desire?”

“Not all men are incapable of restraint.”

“No, there are far more who can’t. I know this better than anyone.”

“Have you ever been in a relationship with a man?”

“And you, Major?”

Rachel’s lips twitched for a moment. There was a lot she wanted to say, but speaking directly felt inappropriate, given she was talking to a Colonel and a saint.

“No, I haven’t.”

“Faith isn’t far. Trust your gut.”

That was the end of the conversation about men. After all, they’d only just met today. It was too awkward to get deep into such a lurid topic.

“Are you done washing?”

“Yes.”

“I’ve washed all the salt off too.”

Just as the two women were about to leave the stream,

[“Ouuu.”]

A whirlpool formed on the surface of the water.

The whirlpool quickly grew, spreading to where Tyria and Rachel stood. The moment the ripples reached them, their legs were pulled downwards.

“Kyaaak!”

Something unidentified pulled Tyria under the water. She was submerged completely. She didn’t even have time to draw a breath. She was suffocating.

“Colonel! Ugh!”

Soon after, Rachel was also pulled into the water.

Tyria squinted and looked down.

In the blurry afterimage, she saw a hazy, smoke-like presence. The presence was in the shape of a human. The smoke gripped Tyria’s legs and dragged her down.

[“MANA, EM HOUT MANA.”]

The smoke speaks.

The devil’s tongue, a whispered hiss.

Tiria’s eyes, once stained purple, returned to their original black.

As a saintess of some renown, Tiria knew the scriptures inside and out. The holy texts weren’t just filled with religious dogma; they were dense with history, too, including meticulous records of the forms and traits of monsters.

This ash-gray figure was unmistakable. It matched the description of a certain type of water ghoul detailed in the scriptures.

She kicked out her legs, but it was a futile resistance. Tiria’s kicks passed right through the smoke, offering no purchase.

As expected.

And actually, a good thing.

Ending incorporeal specters was, after all, her specialty.

Tiria silently chanted, summoning the Baculus. The Baculus was a staff of faith, bestowed by the goddess only upon high-ranking clerics of the rank of archbishop or higher.

The staff’s purpose was to guide lost souls to the right path and cast wicked wraiths into hell.

*Whoosh!*

Tiria slammed the Baculus down.

[“aaaH!”]

The water ghoul shrieked. The pale smoke scattered like paint.

Tiria immediately scanned her surroundings.

Rachel was falling down below.

Her lungs felt like they were rotting away, but she couldn’t abandon an ally. Tiria swam deeper, into the abyss.

Tiria, grabbing Rachel, dispatched the remaining water ghouls without much difficulty. She took Rachel and rose as fast as she could. She was on the verge of passing out from lack of oxygen.

Just as she thought she’d reached her limit.

“Puh-haa-ahh!”

The two of them dramatically pulled themselves out of the lake.

“Haa-ck, haa-ck… Are you alright?”

“Cough, I, I thought I was gonna die…”

They caught their breath sufficiently before continuing the conversation.

“No matter how much I kicked and flailed, it just clung tighter and tighter… Thank you for helping me.”

“That’s what water ghosts do. You can’t exactly hit a formless monster.”

“The sun hasn’t even set yet, why are there monsters here?”

“I don’t really know either. Maybe it’s because we were in the water.”

“Anyway, I never want to come to this lake again.”

“I second that.”

Rachel and Tiria didn’t even bother to dry off before getting dressed. They roughly covered what needed covering and left. Their bodies were clean, but their minds were still uneasy.

Even as they left the forest, the two women kept an eye out for anything edible. But they only found a few berries in the bushes, and didn’t hear a single animal.

Rachel and Tiria simultaneously felt a chilling sensation. Just as it had been when they arrived, the forest was still silent.

*

He finished the outer part of the fish trap with a rope made by twisting twigs and bark. Next, he made another small, funnel-shaped structure and fitted it into the outside trap.

Finally, he covered the cylinder with one of the saint’s stockings, and it was done.

“Oh Goddess, thank you for bestowing upon me this daily nylon.”

He didn’t believe in the Holy Spirit Church, but a little prayer couldn’t hurt, right?

“All the fish are dead now.”

Looks like this island’s got some size to it. There’s even a mountain up there, meaning there’s a good chance of a water source. Gotta find a riverbank to set up some fish traps, either today or tomorrow.

I was thinking about that, wondering what to build next, when it happened.

[“Unexpected.”]

A deep voice came from my side. I whipped my head around instinctively.

[“Didn’t think I’d find a mage lost in a place like this.”]

I understood the words. It was Heon.

I turned to see a figure cloaked head to toe in black standing there. Thin as a rail, and taller than me, it looked.

Just the outline suggested it was human-like. But after seeing all those monsters on the last island, I wasn’t in any mood to trust that.

My hand instinctively went to the pouch holding the magic stones.

[“Hey now, no need to be so wary.”]

[“Who are you?”]

[“Just a traveler passing by.”]

Looks like he ain’t planning on giving up his identity. Since we can talk, I guess I gotta try to pry out some info indirectly.

[“Isn’t this an uninhabited island?”]

[“I thought so too until a few seconds ago, but looks like I was wrong.”]

[“Why are you speaking Heon?”]

[“All mages speak Heon.”]

The man shook his head loosely.

[“If you and I were from different countries, we might speak different languages, wouldn’t we? But if we’re both mages, there’s no need to waste energy on communication. Where else would you find a common language so convenient?”]

[“So you’re not from Hazkail, it seems.”]

The man sat down beside me, easy as you please.

[“My turn to ask. How long have you been on this island?”]

[“Five days at most.”]

[“Don’t lie. It’s been longer, hasn’t it?”]

[“Sorry for deceiving you. It’s actually been ten days.”]

[“My instincts are sharp. Look at your beard. How many days does it take to grow that long? Five? Ten? That’s a joke.”]

[“……A month.”]

The man chuckled, *See, I was right.*

[“For wizards, concealment and deceit are virtues. But even considering that, your wariness is too strong. How can you lie twice in a row with such a calm face?”]

Before I could open my mouth, the man continued.

[“Enough, just tell me how you’ve been spending your time.”]

[“I’ve been sleeping in the lifeboat, surviving on sea fish and tree bark. I keep staring at the horizon, hoping a rescue ship will come.”]

The man clicked his tongue.

[“These days, people aren’t very proactive. If you have a boat, you should think about venturing out to sea, not wasting precious time in a backwater like this.”]

[“You’re right about that.”]

I brushed it off lightly.

Even after that, the man stayed beside me, chattering away. I could understand if he hadn’t seen anyone in a long time, but he was just too familiar.

[“Have you ever gone deep into the forest?”]

[“I’ve just wandered around near the edge. I can’t go too far from the lifeboat.”]

[“That makes sense. But even considering that, it’s still worth exploring at least once.”]

[“What’s in there?”]

[“It was something only I knew, but heh heh heh. No harm in telling a conversation partner I’ve met after all this time.”]

The man grinned, showing his pearly white teeth.

[“If you go further into the woods, in any direction, you’ll come across a clear lake. You can’t imagine how refreshing it is to wash there. You should go take a dip and come back.”]